Good Lord. Somebody has been reading polls. Low taxes! Scary brown people! 2nd Amendment! He’s for all the things, you know, the “home town” values (as opposed to what, exactly, vacation values?) that his opponent is for, only Josh Evans has picked a side. Josh’s side call themselves Republicans. I thought Mr. Carneal was running as a Democrat. (Sure, I knew his son once ran for office as a Republican, but I held out hope that the elder Carneal had at least a slightly different philosophy with respect to public policy) But even aided by the Hubble telescope, I doubt you would find the word DEMOCRAT anywhere on his website. I did find these two words: honest, courageous. Just sayin.

Here is what breaks my heart. He is a good man, by all accounts. Former teacher, former principal, and current mayor of Springfield, he knows a lot of people, and the ones I have met say nice things about him. I have no doubt that he loves his family. And our troops. (He has a son who was twice deployed to Iraq) He even appears to be a competent executive. He is, by most measurements, a leader in this community. So why, why, WHY adopt your opponents platform? This was your opportunity to LEAD, not follow. I think somebody told him that in order to use the State Representative voice, you first have to become State Representative. And hey, we have polls showing that Tennesseans like low taxes and don’t like illegal aliens!

Tennessee Democrats, even and maybe especially those hiding the fact that they are Democrats, have repeatedly tried to counter the Republican message by amplifying it. Take a look around next November, count the number of seats we hold, and then please explain to me why this is considered a winning strategy? I get that candidates have to find and then perfect the “10 word answer” to the various issues of the day, and that it is difficult to articulate nuance on the stump. BUT THIS IS HIS WEBSITE. It is the place to flesh out your positions, and explain why. Identify the problems, propose your solutions. YOU’RE A FORMER EDUCATOR, FOR CRISSAKES. Educate. Do we really need another politician that sees the crowd going somewhere, then runs out ahead of it so that he may lead?

I guess the strategy here is to appeal to moderate Republicans that may be unsure about Evans. But if you hold the same positions, why not run as a Republican, and help that Party elect some moderates that can be reasoned with?

Bah, I don’t know why I bother. We are about to be gerrymandered into oblivion anyway.

Harry Reid, you cowardly, feckless, craven, sniveling, pathetic, cringing little milksop. I had made my mind up after yesterday’s cricket fest here to avoid controversy for awhile, and just write about people and events that I find unique and interesting. But I couldn’t do another thing until I called out THE SENATE MAJORITY LEADER for essentially reaching into his $36 drawers, pulling out his shriveled, limp and lonely pecker (having long ago been de-balled) and pissing on the First Amendment. If you can’t beat that lunatic candidate without pandering to her base of unhinged super-patriots, you don’t need to be shepherding important legislation through the United States Senate. Period. Go buy a roll of quarters and ogle the chesty waitresses at the Rio. We might end up as the minority party after November, and then we will need fighters.

A story like this should outrage every Tennessean. A Smyrna based landscaping company called Vanderbilt Landscaping (no relation to the University) has been accused of bringing in workers from Mexico on work visas, then confiscating their passports and forcing them to live in unsafe and unsanitary conditions. This isn’t about “the free hand of the market”, its about abusing a broken system to maximize profit at the expense of defenseless people. Think about that. These are people being abused and exploited because they are desperate, and had the misfortune of being born into unimaginable poverty.

The Country on our Southern border is on fire, folks. The mostly rural North has been decimated first by unfair trade agreements which wiped out the family farms, and then by a brutal war between powerful drug cartels. The people that live there, (and it has only been a handful of generations since that included my family) have no bootstraps with which to lift themselves up. They scrape together enough money to pay for the privilege of coming here to work and earn money to help their families, only to face this IN OUR COUNTRY:

There were 15 people living here, no air-conditioning, one bathroom, no beds. The workers built their own beds.

As Americans, and as Tennesseans, we must demand that this company forfeit any contracts it has with the State Government. I do not want to be a party to this. Do you?

The Gulf is dying. We are mired in an un-winnable war in Afghanistan. The deficit is soaring, the economy stagnant. Climate change threatens crop production, and there is a worldwide shortage of potable water.

I need to select a team defense for my fantasy football league. I’m leaning toward the Jets, but I can be swayed if anyone has a strong opinion. Does anybody else think with Warner gone Fitzgerald won’t be as effective? I think he gets the ball as much or more since the Cards are thin at Wide out. Early Doucet showed some promise last season, though. This is my first time playing fantasy league, and my eyes are already tired from reading stats….and I’ve only decided on two QBs. (I guess I can say who I prefer, since my football friends don’t read this web-site) The obvious choice was Drew Brees, and my second choice is Matt Schaub, who I hope will be somewhat overlooked. He is big, 6’5″, 240 pounds, threw 29 TDs last season and half as many picks. Plus, at 29, he is just now starting to gel as a QB.

I don’t know why I elected to do this, because I won’t be able to sit and enjoy the games…I’ll be rooting against my favorites because more than anything, I don’t want come in last with these guys I huck discs with on Sundays. It’s a brutal, unforgiving collection of over- competitive guys, plus my brother . So, send me ideas for every position. I really need a kicker by today.

I’m not particularly squeamish, I mean, I’ve seen my fair share of nasty things. That said, the cesspool that is the comments section over at Post Politics more often than not drove me away. Both vicious and amateurish, the trolls there succeeded in drowning out any reasonable discussion. It should be painfully obvious that many of them were either paid operatives or kool-aid swilling volunteers, as evidenced by their absence this evening over at PP. I’m assuming they are attending either victory or concession parties, and therefor unable to post comments. There will be hangovers tomorrow.

I’m glad Haslam won. I’m not excited about the Democrat he’ll face in November, and I will probably not vote. (It isn’t enough to don the team jersey and fall in line anymore) If Haslam had lost, I’d be forced to devote time and money making sure the other two candidates were defeated, as I really believed they would have embarrassed this State at every opportunity. (Not to mention enduring the draconian cuts they would enacted as Governor) It will be interesting to see if Haslam embraces the crazy or just writes checks and plays golf.

As I write this, it looks like Ben Leming will not be the Democratic nominee against Diane Black. I just don’t think he had the time to raise the all important TV money to win. He worked his ass off, and I have nothing but respect for him and the handful of dedicated people that ran his campaign. He is gutsy and smart, and I think he will do well in the private sector. I don’t expect him to run for office again, though I could be wrong. I know nothing of Mr. Carter, except that he is a former Marine and an attorney. Its entirely possible that some Democrats decided he looked older and more seasoned, and therefor a better candidate to square off against Diane Black. Fair enough.